SAVANNAH—Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz delivered his first State of the Port Address to a record crowd of nearly 1,100 in Savannah on Thursday. He outlined actions required to achieve continued growth and prepare the Port of Savannah for future prosperity.

 

“The Port of Savannah experienced a remarkable recovery in FY 2010 (July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010),” said Foltz. “The 9.7-percent increase in TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) for the year allowed the GPA to return to near record levels reached in FY2008 and continued its momentum gaining market share across the Southeast.” 

 

In FY2010, GPA posted its best year ever for exports moving 1,139,983 TEUs, which was a 15.5-percent increase compared with the previous fiscal year. During FY2010 the GPA handled nearly 12 percent of the total U.S. loaded container exports based on tonnage. The top five export commodities for FY2010 were wood pulp, paper and paperboard, food, clay and chemicals.

 

“Georgia’s deepwater ports are one of the brightest spots in the Georgia economy right now,” said GPA’s Chairman of the Board Alec L. Poitevint. “Savannah has maintained its place as the fourth largest U.S. container port by having the best workforce, unsurpassed infrastructure, room to grow and a sound marketing plan to capitalize on its strengths.

 

 

For more see Friday's edition of the Herald.